Total of 120 nominated for the Cup
Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) nomination stage saw 120 runners confirmed for the two-mile feature on November 4, with a total of 101 local and 19 international horses entered for the 165th running of the $10 million contest.
American Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has been booked to ride Parchment Party (Constitution) and, should he line up in the race, will become the first American rider to compete in the Melbourne Cup.
Champion trainer Chris Waller heads the locals with 27 nominations, led by reigning Australian Horse of the Year, Via Sistina (Fastnet Rock), Aeliana (Castelvecchio) and Buckaroo (Fastnet Rock).
Defending Melbourne Cup champion Knight’s Choice (Extreme Choice) will attempt to become the first back-to-back Cup winner since the legendary Makybe Diva (Desert King), who won the race in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Hall of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse is searching for her second win in the race, but first alongside co-trainer Adrian Bott, and the trainers having nominated Sir Delius (Frankel), Vauban (Galiway) and Alalcance (Mastercraftsman).
Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Ciaron Maher has nominated 13 horses, headlined by Middle Earth (Roaring Lion), last year’s placegetter Okita Soushi (Galileo) and new stable addition, Goldolphin’s VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Zardozi (Kingman), who finished fourth for her former trainer James Cummings in 2024.
A total of eight countries are represented among the nominations including six international with horses from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, England, France, Germany, and the United States.
Two-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Joseph O’Brien has nominated two horses, led by the now Australian Bloodstock-owned Al Riffa (Wootton Bassett), who will be following in the footsteps of O’Brien’s previous Cup winners Rekindling (High Chaparral) and Twilight Payment (Teofilo).
Joseph’s father, Aidan O’Brien, could be represented in the Melbourne Cup for the first time in five years as recent Group 1 winner Scandinavia (Justify) was one of three entries for the Ballydoyle trainer, alongside Mount Kilimanjaro (Siyouni) and Aftermath (Justify).
Fellow Irish trainer, Willie Mullins has signalled his intention to travel to Flemington for the third consecutive year with Absurde (Fastnet Rock) and Hipop De Loire (American Post), while last year’s Geelong Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) winner Onesmoothoperator (Dialed In) could well return for another crack at the Melbourne Cup for trainer Brian Ellison.
Victoria Racing Club’s chief racing officer Leigh Jordon said of the nominations: “The Lexus Melbourne Cup continues to capture the imagination of trainers and owners both here in Australia and around the world, and this year’s nominations reflect that global appeal.”
“The mix of elite homegrown horses, seasoned internationals and promising newcomers makes this year’s Lexus Melbourne Cup an exciting build up for racing fans.”